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Presentation on theme: "Feminist research and epistemologies"— Presentation transcript:

2 lecture outline feminist critique of sociological research and methodscounting or quoting?: debate over the appropriateness of quantitative or qualitative research methods in feminist researchtend to favour qualitative methodse.g. refer to Oakley’s (1981) study – transition to motherhood - and the idea of a ‘participatory model’is there a feminist method?gendered nature of knowledgefeminist sociology of knowledgefeminist epistemologies: e.g. standpoint and empiricismsome final points to think about

3 feminist critique of researchchallenge the myth of ‘hygienic research’:question the ‘scientistic cloak’ - the idea of detached value-neutral researcherresearch is not always orderly – messyreflexivity - no account of researcher’s self and their relationship to/with those participating in the research project

6 BUT cultivating rapport or ‘faking friendships’ – exploitative too?assume shared womanhood - can rapport be forged between all women irrespective of class, ethnicity, sexuality etc?feminist research – considered too subjective – issues of validity (led to a range of feminist epistemological positions – baseline to assess ‘truth claims’ – discuss shortly)also some feminists argue that statistical research has an important role to play too – e.g. extent of discrimination – equal opportunitiesOakley and others have since advocated mixed-method (i.e. quantitative and qualitative) research designsdepend on research question(s)? – ‘it’s not what you do it’s how you do it’!

7 is there a feminist method?method: research techniques/practices – e.g. ethnography, survey, interview (choice of recipe)methodology: theories of how research is conducted – e.g. qualitative or quantitative (cooking process)epistemology: theory of knowledge – (kind of meal produced)according to Stanley & Wise (in Stanley 1990:26):who can be a knower?what can be known?what counts as valid knowledge?what is the relationship between knowing and being (ontology)what makes feminist research ‘feminist’ is the methodology and epistemology NOT the method

9 ‘a feminist sociology of knowledge’ (according to Lengermann & Niebrugge-Brantley in Ritzer 2000: 477)claim that knowledge and understanding of the world:from the standpoint of groups of peopleis always partial and interest ladenvaries within and between groupspower relations‘feminist standpoint epistemology’ – standpoint of women

11 feminist standpoint epistemologysometimes called ‘women’s experience epistemology’- because experience is the considered the basis of knowledge‘standpoint’ – ‘what we do shapes what we know’builds on and adapts Marx’s insights of the proletariat / particular emphasis on the sexual division of labour – women are particularly aware of and responsible for the grounded responsibilities of everyday lifewomen – oppressed class – comprehend their own subordination and those who oppress them (men) – this affords a ‘truer’ understanding of social reality – not distorted by ideologies of powerclaim that feminist knowledge is less biased than malestream knowledge

12 BUT feminism motivated by political interests too?are all women the same – is there a common basis of oppression – can some women share more in common with some men than with other women?hierarchy of oppression?are some women more oppressed than others e.g. Black women – hence do they produce truer or different version(s) of reality?problem of relativism?is it more accurate to speak of standpoints?

14 BUTperpetuates and leaves intact the myth of ‘hygienic research’ - many feminists reject this assumptioni.e. notion of a neutral researcher who attempts to access and represent an objective realitypeople are objects in such researchlacks reflexivity and transparency of research process?

15 summary of main issuesfeminist critique of sociological research and methodscounting or quoting?: debate over the appropriateness of quantitative or qualitative research methods in feminist researchtend to favour qualitative methodse.g. refer to Oakley’s (1981) study – transition to motherhood - and the idea of a ‘participatory model’is there a feminist method?

16 summary of main issues gendered nature of knowledgefeminist sociology of knowledgefeminist epistemologies: e.g. standpoint and empiricismsome final points to think about

17 final thoughtsfeminist theory arose out of personal politics – importance of women’s everyday ‘lived experiences’ is it becoming disconnected from women’s experiences?to what extent is feminist theory politically relevant today and for whom?given the emphasis on diversity and differences between women – how effectively and legitimately can feminists from different cultural, religious, class, ethnic backgrounds etc theorise about ‘other’ women and their experiences?

18 final thoughtsdoes a researcher have to be working class to study working class women or of the same ethnic origin etc – infinite regress – if this is the case what are the implications for sociology?when we talk about ‘gender’ and ‘sociology of gender’ – we tend to equate gender as a shorthand for women – why is this? Are men not gendered too?the influence and impact of feminism and feminist theory has played a part in opening up a field referred to as ‘men’s studies’ whereby male researchers look at men and masculinity or masculinities – can men utilise feminist perspectives?